Noricum Gold LON:NMG Managing Director Greg Kuenzel said, “This update demonstrates the breadth and speed of both the activities underway at our two priority gold ore production targets, and also our ongoing work to continually assess the prospectivity of the full licence area. Having recently raised GBP1 million which is sufficient to see us through to production in Q3 2016, we intend to firstly produce gold ore from Kvemo Bolnisi where drilling is currently underway, and then at Tsitel Sopeli. In tandem, we will conduct an IP survey which will allow us to detect mineralisation at far greater depth than has previously been possible which we are confident will highlight new areas of mineralisation as well as refine existing drill targets.”
Noricum Gold Limited, the European focused base and precious metals resource development company, is pleased to provide an update on its activities at multiple, near term production targets identified at the 861 km(2) Bolnisi Project located in Georgia. These include the Kvemo Bolnisi target, from which the Company plans to commence first gold ore production in Q3 2016 and where the Company recently made a copper discovery, and the Tsitel Sopeli target, which represents the Company’s second gold ore production target.
Highlights
— Drilling and mine planning continues at Kvemo Bolnisi ahead of first gold production planned for Q3 2016
o Second drill rig brought on site – campaign expected to be completed by end of March 2016
o New capture satellite imagery purchased to aid planning and scheduling
— Planning for trenching and drilling at Tsitel Sopeli at final stages – work will commence once the drilling at Kvemo Bolnisi is completed
— An initial detailed ground magnetic survey over the surficial expression of mineralisation at Tsitel Sopeli has been completed to aid production planning
— Acquisition of Induced Polarisation (‘IP’) unit to expand regional development and increase new discovery potential across the entire licence area
Kvemo Bolnisi: Drilling and Mine Planning
Drilling and mine planning work is continuing at Kvemo Bolnisi, one of two outcropping gold targets which have been identified as having the potential to be fast tracked into production.
Resource drilling is currently underway at Kvemo Bolnisi and to expedite this work, the Company will operate a second drill rig that should see the programme being completed within the next couple of weeks. Drilling will now focus on the central parts of the delineated secondary quartzites, whereas drilling to date has focussed on the northern parts of the ore body.
Once drilling has been completed work will continue on mine planning and pit design which will see the Company on track for first production from Kvemo Bolnisi in Q3 2016. To facilitate this, some new capture satellite imagery has been purchased and this will help in planning and scheduling.
Acquisition of IP Unit to Expand Regional Development
As part of the overall development work, the Company has recently acquired an Induced Polarisation (‘IP’) Unit consisting of two GDD IP transmitters and a receiver. The equipment is currently being shipped from the manufacturer in Canada and should be on site in the next couple of weeks for commissioning of the first surveys.
The Bolnisi ore district comprises numerous copper-gold deposits defined historically by the successful deployment of regional IP surveys due to the chargeability of the sulphide mineralisation. It is believed that utilising the latest IP techniques and equipment will improve penetration, allowing Noricum to look deeper and thus provide every chance of making new discoveries. Noricum’s geophysical consultants concur that IP is the preferred technique for this deposit type and a means of distinguishing mineralisation. The generation of precise 3D IP images will greatly assist in the definition of drill targets reducing lead times and more specifically looking at high sulphide content bodies that exist within broadly defined former Soviet resources. Two of our exisiting targets have over 300 vertical diamond drill holes each and this historic information combined with the use of IP is expected to highlight the high-grade economic mineralisation within the broader mineralised body.
Resistivity and induced polarisation measure the electrical properties of subsurface rock by introducing an electrical current into the ground, energising it and measuring the induced potential-field gradient voltage. The distance between the pair of current electrodes and the pair of potential-field electrodes determines the depth of investigation. The measured IP phase indicates the ability of rocks to briefly hold an electrical charge after the transmitted voltage is turned off.
An induced polarisation survey is useful in outlining disseminated sulphide distribution in porphyry and epithermal deposits related to chargeability highs. Chargeability highs and resistivity lows should be inversely correlated.
Magnetics, Trenching and Drilling at Tsitel Sopeli
Meanwhile, planning for trenching and drilling at the Company’s second production target, Tsitel Sopeli, is in its final stages and work will commence once the drilling at Kvemo Bolnisi is completed.
An initial detailed ground magnetic survey over the surficial expression of mineralisation at Tsitel Sopeli has been completed. The detailed images produced will allow the delineation of structures and in some cases rock sequences, this is important in defining the controlling aspects of mineralisation.
Magnetic susceptibility test work shows that various country rock types are magnetic to varying degrees, but the main mineralised rocks seem to be non or only weakly magnetic. These are important characteristics to integrate into the geological model.
